Dallas

Grocery Store Wars: Walmart, Central Market Post Big Gains as Whole Foods Drops

The three biggest North Texas grocers, Kroger, Tom Thumb and Albertson's, have been the same for years

Amazon is making many of its grocery competitors in Dallas-Fort Worth smarter and stronger. But in the two years since it acquired Whole Foods Market, it hasn't gained an advantage over traditional grocers or its biggest competitor everywhere, Walmart.

Amazon's stepped-up presence — adding Prime Now deliveries from its Dallas-area Whole Foods stores in early 2018 and lowering prices nationally as it tried to shed Whole Foods' "whole paycheck" image — forced grocery retailers to spend a lot of money building their own online businesses and cutting prices.

That's partly why, for the second consecutive year, building new stores in D-FW wasn't a priority for grocers, analysts said. Instead, remodeling to refresh stores or accommodate new online operations was the big focus in the race for a slice of the $17 billion-plus grocery business in North Texas.

Read more from NBC 5's media partner The Dallas Morning News.

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